News

Va. state Sen. Deeds stabbed, son shot

by Peter Sullivan 11/19/13 10:43 AM ET

Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic party’s 2009 gubernatorial nominee, suffered multiple stab wounds to the head and upper torso Tuesday after an altercation at his home with his son, who died from a gunshot wound, according to state police.

“Based on the evidence we have right now, we are looking into this as an attempted murder and suicide,” Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said at a press conference. She added it was “not an absolute determination because it’s still very much an ongoing investigation.”

Geller said police are not looking for a suspect and that no one besides the senator and Gus Deeds, his 24-year-old son, were in the house at the time. Police are still working on establishing a motive and the sequence of events.

The elder Deeds is hospitalized in fair condition, Geller said.

Dennis Cropper, executive director of the Rockbridge County Community Services Board, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Gus Deeds had a psychiatric evaluation Monday but was released because no psychiatric bed was available in western Virginia.

Cropper said the evaluation came under an emergency custody order. Deeds was evaluated at Bath Community Hospital before being released because of the lack of beds, Cropper said.

A 2012 report by the Virginia Inspector General found that in a 90-day period, 72 people in Virginia were determined to meet the criteria for temporary mental health detention, but did not receive it because of “capacity and access issues.”

That number is about one and a half percent of the 5,000 people who were successfully committed in that period. To help remedy the problem, the report called for “an infusion of funds for discharge assistance planning and the creation of additional community treatment capacity.”

After the stabbing, the elder Deeds walked down the hill from his residence to Route 42, where he was picked up by a cousin who was driving by, state police said in a news release.

The cousin drove to Deeds’s residence, where the 911 call was placed. An ambulance drove Deeds to a nearby relative’s farm, where a helicopter picked him up to take him to University of Virginia hospital in Charlottesville, where he is currently.

Virginia State Police responded to the senator’s home in Millboro, Va., at 7:25 a.m., Geller said. Emergency personnel attempted to revive Gus Deeds, but were unable to do so.

The College of William and Mary said that Gus Deeds enrolled as a student there in 2007 and had studied there, though not continuously, before withdrawing last month.

Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler said in a statement that he was “a music major with a strong academic record.”

Creigh Deeds defeated Democratic rivals – Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe – in 2009 to win the Democratic nomination, but lost the gubernatorial election to Republican Bob McDonnell by 17 points.

“The news from this morning is utterly heartbreaking,” McDonnell said in a statement. “Creigh Deeds is an exceptional and committed public servant who has always done what he believes is best for Virginia and who gives his all to public service.”

Other politicians took to Twitter to offer their prayers.

“Stunning news from Bath County. I am praying for @CreighDeeds and his family at this very, very difficult time,” wrote Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).

“Praying for Creigh Deeds and his family,” wrote GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

“Thinking and praying for Creigh Deeds and his entire family. He’s a great man and public servant,” Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) tweeted.

Deeds has served in the Virginia state Senate since 2001 and served in the House of Delegates for 10 years prior to that. He ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2005.

Deeds and his first wife divorced in 2010. They also have three daughters. Deeds remarried in 2012.

This report was updated at 5:26 p.m.